By Víctor Borges, Anthony Boadle and André Romani
BRASILIA (Reuters) – A man bombed himself outside Brazil’s Supreme Court after trying to enter the building on Wednesday, officials said, raising security concerns before the country hosts world leaders from the Group of the top 20 economies.
The explosions come five days before G20 heads of state meet in Rio de Janeiro, followed by a state visit to the capital Brasilia by Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The first of two explosions occurred Wednesday afternoon in a parking lot near the court building and a second explosion occurred seconds later in front of the courthouse, where the man’s body was found.
Federal District Deputy Governor Celina Leao said preliminary information suggested the man had committed suicide by explosives after trying to enter the Supreme Court. She said he owned a nearby car in which another explosion blew open the trunk.
Leao said she hoped it was a “lone wolf” crime, but she couldn’t be sure. Police said they had not made a final identification of the dead man because they faced the risk of additional explosives being in the body.
The explosions took place around the Plaza de los Tres Poderes, an iconic square in Brasilia that connects the main buildings of the three branches of Brazil’s federal government.
It was the scene of riots on January 8 last year, when supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro ransacked buildings to protest his electoral defeat.
Police deployed a bomb squad with a bomb disposal robot to the square in the heart of the Brazilian capital to investigate the explosions.
The Supreme Court justices had just finished a plenary session when the explosions occurred and were quickly evacuated safely, the court said in a statement.
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva had left the executive palace on Wednesday night shortly before the explosions.